Part of The Gentle Commentary (series completed)
· Lesson 42 of 117
The nice comment on the book of cards identifying the surahs of the Holy Qur’an | D. Muhammad Nassif | Surat Al-Muzzammil
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Transcript
Machine translation — may contain errors
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In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
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Concise Commentary,
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by Dr. Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz ibn 'Umar Nassif,
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may Allah preserve him.
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Surah al-Muzzammil.
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In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
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Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah.
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*Concise Commentary on the Overview Cards*.
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We have reached Surah al-Muzzammil,
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and I wish to pause over three observations regarding it.
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The first concerns the order of the Surah's revelation.
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He stated that it is considered the third, revealed after al-Qalam and before al-Muddaththir,
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as you know,
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since the book relies on citing this well-known narration.
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Thus, according to the famous narration, it is counted as the third,
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coming after al-Qalam and before al-Muddaththir.
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That is to say, after al-'Alaq, al-Qalam was revealed,
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then al-Muzzammil, and then al-Muddaththir—
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such is the well-known narration.
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However, there are qualifications regarding this,
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as authentic narrations refute the idea that al-Qalam preceded it,
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just as the explicit texts in the *Sahih* indicate that al-Muddaththir directly followed al-'Alaq,
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as will be discussed regarding the revelation of al-Muddaththir.
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So the authentic view is the well-known, correct timeline
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which you will find in the discussion on these surahs.
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For al-'Alaq, naturally, is the first,
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then al-Muddaththir, then al-Muzzammil, and then al-Qalam might be the fourth.
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Of course, when we say it is the first, second, or third,
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we do not mean that they were revealed entirely all at once.
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Surah al-'Alaq is the first only in terms of its initial portion,
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but it was not completed until a period during which several other surahs had been revealed.
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Meaning, Surah al-'Alaq is not temporally continuous from its beginning to its end,
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and it certainly was not revealed all at once.
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Rather, other surahs intervened between its parts.
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So if it is said that a certain surah is the third or fourth in revelation, it refers to its initial portion;
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it does not require that the entire surah was revealed all at once,
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nor does it mean it was revealed piecemeal until completion before another surah began.
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The second observation is that he mentioned only a single cause of revelation for it,
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which might draw one's attention,
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as a person might assume that its opening was revealed for a specific cause.
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In truth, this is a matter subject to scholarly disagreement.
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Some scholars hold that its opening was revealed for a specific cause—
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referring to Surah al-Muzzammil—
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unlike al-Muddaththir, where the initial verse was undeniably revealed for a clear cause reported in the *Sahih*.
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But as for whether the beginning of Surah al-Muzzammil was revealed
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for a specific cause or not, that is the question here,
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or rather, that is the point of discussion here.
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Many books on the causes of revelation do not mention a cause for the beginning of the Surah;
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instead, they mention a cause for the revelation of its ending,
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and that is what the author confined himself to mentioning.
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However, the possibility that its beginning was revealed for a specific cause remains plausible,
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and you will also find this discussed in *Tafsir al-Tahrir*.
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As for the third observation, it pertains to the primary theme of the Surah.
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Contemplating its passages reveals that it serves as spiritual preparation for callers to Allah,
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prior to the public call and warning that comes in Surah al-Muddaththir.
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Surah al-Muzzammil was equipping the callers, led by their Master, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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with spiritual preparation
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through the night prayer, remembrance, and devotion to Allah.
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This is a matter that educators should pay attention to when preparing those who will advocate for the Truth,
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just as they must cultivate it within themselves.
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Glad tidings to whoever is blessed with such guidance from his early beginnings—
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at the start of his commitment, his pursuit of knowledge,
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and his desire to do good and rescue humanity from its plight.
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Blessed is the one who is granted a mentor at that stage to guide him toward spiritual preparation
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and toward these sublime meanings found in Surah al-Muzzammil.
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Callers to Allah and educators ought to devote themselves to these verses,
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pondering them and extracting from them a methodology to nurture the youth of the Ummah—the callers of the future.
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And may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions.
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And all praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds.